Tuesday, October 7, 2008

China cancelled a visit to Washington by a senior general, slapped an indefinite ban on port calls by US naval vessels, and cancelled low-level diplomatic exchanges with the US yesterday, in retaliation for a US plan to sell $6.5bn (£3.7bn) of advanced weaponry to Taiwan.

China's foreign ministry in Beijing said the move broke international law and would cast a shadow over bilateral relations. The proposed sale "has contaminated the sound atmosphere for our military relations and gravely jeopardised China's national security", a spokesman, Qin Gang, said.

China regards Taiwan, which has had de facto independence since 1949, as a renegade province. But its aim to unify the island with the mainland is opposed by a majority of Taiwanese. Under a 1979 law the US in effect pledged to help Taiwan defend itself against any attempt by China to forcibly acquire the territory.

The Pentagon described China's reaction as "unfortunate" and said it would lead to missed opportunities. But both sides appeared anxious to limit the fallout from the row. US-China cooperation on nuclear proliferation issues in Iran and North Korea was not expected to be affected.

The arms sale was first proposed by the US in 2001 but ran into opposition in Taiwan's parliament as well as in Beijing. It was initially valued at $12bn and potentially included Aegis-class frigates, submarines and advanced F16 fighter jets.

China has expanded its military spending in recent years and has deployed an estimated 1,000 missiles across the Taiwan Strait, facing Taiwan.

Prickly US relations with Taiwan have eased since the election as president last March of Ma Ying-jeou, the nationalist Kuomintang party leader and former Taipei mayor. Ma has taken steps to improve cross-straits relations, including direct charter flights, a lifting of caps on Taiwanese investment in China, and the opening of permanent representative offices in both countries.

As a result, Chen Yunlin, the official in charge of China's Taiwan policy, is expected to visit the island soon. It would be the highest-level contact since 1949.